The invention relates to a method of removing the ties or straps surrounding and holding a bale of cotton, hay or other fibers; it further relates to equipment for (1) transporting and holding a bale in position, (2) simultaneously cutting all straps by means of an impact cutter, and (3) pulling the straps off the bale without mussing it up.
Cotton wool is usually baled in the field and steel straps are tied around its circumference in order to keep the bale in its shape. The ready bales are usually transported into storage, and from there to factories for spinning and further processing. Before processing the bales have to be opened by removing the straps, and this operation has, up to now, been done by hand, including cutting the straps by hand and unwinding them from the bale, while pulling them from under the heavy bale by hand. This unpacking requires several people and is, accordingly, expensive.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide equipment for cutting and removing the steel straps around a cottom bale by mechanical means only, thus requiring practically no manual effort.
It is another object to utilize, as far as possible, known equipment, so modified as to perfectly suit the required task.
And it is a final object to provide simple and uncomplicated equipment which should work uninterruptedly without major maintenance expenses.